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The S.A.B.E.R. GUILD: Saber Manufacturers => Plecter Labs => Sound boards technical issues / questions / problems => Topic started by: James In CA on April 30, 2019, 06:51:08 PM

Title: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on April 30, 2019, 06:51:08 PM
Hi guys,

I'm building a saber carrier for a Nightbrother hilt from Watto's Junkyard. After I connected power to my Prizm 5.5, I methodically built my carrier one circuit at a time. I tested the functionality of each item I added, before moving on to solder another item. My switches and speaker were connected and working fine, even the power-on LED connected to the 3.3V pad worked as the manual indicated. I plugged in my charger to bring my KeepPower 26650 to a full charge. Things seemed good!

I then set my pixel count on the SD card (to 127), and soldered the ground and data wires for the Neopixel PCB connector to the board. Everything seemed fine, so I plugged in the blade and powered up the saber.

My switches and speaker worked fine, but the blade lit erratically. I could easily switch fonts and colors, as well as activate FOC and AccuBolt. I assumed the blade was lighting erratically because I had overlooked that the ls0 and ls1 settings were configured for WS2812. I adjusted the SD card's ls0 and ls1 settings for my SK6812, and tried the blade again. The LEDs still lit erratically.

That's when I noticed that my power-on LED was no longer staying lit. I'm not sure WHEN it started blinking, but I know it was after trying to power the blade.

I have de-soldered the blade ground and data wires from the Prizm 5.5, but the power-on LED still starts blinking shortly after the kill switch is removed. Every other feature of the board works fine, except I don't have a working blade or the solidly lit power-on LED.

Can anyone advise of any troubleshooting tips I can follow? I searched for a troubleshooting guide, but didn't find one. Perhaps I overlooked it. I'm grateful for any guidance! I'm concerned the saber-lighting portion of this board is fried. I have a second carrier to build and want to ensure I don't fry my second board, as well.

Thank you for reading!
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: erv on May 01, 2019, 12:36:59 AM
I would try without the blade and make a simple(r) test setup with speaker, switches and just that.
If the 3.3V is blinking, it means the main regulator isn't working ok. It could be due to various things, including the main voltage going up and down (audio amp fried during charging).

what charger to you have ?

Please post a video of your simple setup in operation once you're done
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on May 01, 2019, 04:48:30 PM
Thank you, Erv.

If the regulator is fried, I hope I can find a replacement. :smiley:

I'll get to work on simplifaction and making that video. Regarding the charger, here's the charger (https://www.jqsabers.com/product/3-7v-li-ion-battery-charger-us-plug/) I have.
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: erv on May 01, 2019, 11:02:27 PM
that charger should be safe, it's fixed / 1-cell so there no risk to over power the board.
Let us know how it goes !
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on May 01, 2019, 11:02:53 PM
Hey Erv,

I started prepping the simple build. In the process, I found a flake of solder on the board that looked like it could have been acting as a bridge on two circuits, so I cleaned it off. I started the simple build by adding the speaker and a spare LED. The LED wasn't blinking, so I thought maybe the solder flake was my problem. I started to reinstall the board in my carrier, and the LED in the carrier blinked once connected. I unsoldered it, and soldered in my spare, and the spare LED doesn't blink!

I'll get back to troubleshooting tomorrow, but I wanted to say thank you again for your assistance!
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: erv on May 01, 2019, 11:10:43 PM
that's a common problem, drops of solders, or copper hair wires / strands bridging.
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on May 02, 2019, 05:35:09 PM
I got the power-on LED to stop blinking... somehow.

As I posted above, the spare LED didn't blink, but the old one would. So I removed the old LED and wiring from the hilt, re-soldered the old LED, replaced its heat-shrink tubing, twisted its wires together (I hadn't done that previously), then ran the wires back through the hilt. Now it stays lit!
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on May 02, 2019, 08:06:48 PM
I just finished reconnecting the Neopixel wiring to the Prizm board, then cobbled together a test connection to the blade PCB. The blade is still acting as it always has. I'm sharing this video of the blade in operation, in case its malfunction looks familiar. [Sorry about my curious dog.]

Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: erv on May 02, 2019, 10:48:15 PM
I just finished reconnecting the Neopixel wiring to the Prizm board, then cobbled together a test connection to the blade PCB. The blade is still acting as it always has. I'm sharing this video of the blade in operation, in case its malfunction looks familiar. [Sorry about my curious dog.]

The blade is functioning normally : it has the unstable effect enable and set to fire effect (unstable=2)
Title: Re: SOLVED: Prizm 5.5 Power-on LED blinking / Neopixel blade flickering
Post by: James In CA on May 02, 2019, 11:08:46 PM
I just finished reconnecting the Neopixel wiring to the Prizm board, then cobbled together a test connection to the blade PCB. The blade is still acting as it always has. I'm sharing this video of the blade in operation, in case its malfunction looks familiar. [Sorry about my curious dog.]

The blade is functioning normally : it has the unstable effect enable and set to fire effect (unstable=2)

Erv, thank you for setting me straight! I adjusted "unstable" to 0 and my Neopixel blade behaves exactly as expected. I'm  truly grateful for your assistance!!